automatism
/ɔːˈtɒmətɪzəm/
"automatism" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“automatism” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Automatic or involuntary action.
Corpus desk
Index EN-automatism · automatism · English
automatism · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "A" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | automatism |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɔːˈtɒmətɪzəm/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “automatism” in English
Rare enough to double-check
automatism is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ɔːˈtɒmətɪzəm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for automatism in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From automat(on) + -ism. The correct English form is automatism, spelled A-U-T-O-M-A-T-I-S-M.
Definition
- 1Automatic or involuntary action.
- 2The power of initiating vital processes from within the cell, organ, or organism, independent of external stimulus.
- 3The doctrine that animals are automata, operating according to mechanical laws.
- 4A surrealist painting technique whereby one attempts to move the brush, pen etc. without conscious control over it.
- 5An action performed subconsciously, without any apparent direction from the mind; a thought which appears spontaneously in one's consciousness.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how automatism appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Overcoming the gravity of representation and the figurative, automatism and acquired reflexes, she mixes brute force and translucid emotions to paint an ontological, disquieting, enigmatic human figure free from artifice, universal in its expression.
[G]eneralising this phenomenon, Mr. Myers has given the name of automatism, sensory or motor, emotional or intellectual, to this whole sphere of effects, due to 'uprushes' into the ordinary consciousness of energies originating in the subliminal parts of the mind. The simplest instance of an automatism is the phenomenon of post-hypnotic suggestion, so-cal…
Etymology
From automat(on) + -ism.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.